WTL

I was born in New York City in 1966. I first studied music composition with Georgianna Romig Lannon, and later studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia under Andrew Rudin and Joseph Castaldo. After University, I pursued independent studies at the Liszt Academy in Hungary, where I studied with Máté Hollós. I was living in Hungary at the time the Iron Curtain rusted through, and the experience of witnessing the end of Communist Eastern Europe left a deep impression on me.

I was Assistant Director of the Composers Guild of New Jersey through the 1990’s. In that position I helped bring the work of contemporary American composers to a broad international audience. My work with the Guild included performing a number of in-school workshops and residencies designed to bring new and experimental music to school children. These programs often involved coaching the students in writing their own music. At the same time, I started writing & performing stories and poems for children; before long, I was doing almost as many in-school programs for poetry and writing as I did for music.

I was also heavily involved in the short-lived Long Beach Island Arts Festival (1993-95), where at various times I found myself coordinating poetry (1993), film (1993-95), music (1995), visual art exhibitions (1995) and in-school programs (1993-95), before stepping in as de-facto Artistic Director in 1994 and bringing the week-long Last Annual Festival to a chaotic but successful conclusion.

In the intervening years, I’ve established a much bigger reputation as a writer on horror films than I ever did as an artist; I also served as a Board member and volunteer for a not-for-profit cat rescue.

There are two seemingly-incompatible sides to my creative personality. My music tends to be very, very serious — slow (often to the point of stasis), atmospheric and tinged by tragedy. My verses are the opposite: they’re brief, energetic and playful; and if they have a serious side to them, it’s usually well-hidden. I don’t think there’a any real contradiction between the two approaches. In fact, for better or worse, they’re a pretty good reflection of exactly who I am.